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Three Fires Elementary

Q: Is Three Fires Elementary a good school?

Three Fires Elementary ranks 773 rd of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

773^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 48% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Three Fires Elementary is a large K-5 school in Howell, MI, serving 753 students within the Howell Public Schools district, where about one-third of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

If you're comparing schools, the most important thing to know is that Three Fires has seen a significant academic decline over the past several years. In 2017-2018, the school ranked in the 82nd percentile statewide; by 2025-2026, it had fallen to the 48th percentile, making it the lowest-performing elementary school in its district. For context, peer schools like Challenger Elementary rank in the 56th-73rd percentile range, while nearby Brighton Area Schools—just a few miles away—feature schools like Hornung Elementary in the 95th percentile. In 5th-grade math, for instance, only 30.3% of Three Fires students are proficient, compared to 40.5% district-wide and over 50% at some neighboring schools.

The most striking issue, however, is chronic absenteeism. In 2024-2025, a staggering 37.2% of Three Fires students were chronically absent—far above the state average of 27.9% and dramatically higher than the under-12% rates seen at nearby Brighton schools. This spike in missed school days aligns with recent drops in test scores, suggesting attendance is a major factor in the school's struggles. On a more positive note, there are pockets of strength: 4th graders outperformed other grade levels in both ELA and math, and 5th-grade social studies scores actually exceeded district and state averages. The school also spends more per student ($15,410) than some higher-performing peers, indicating that funding isn't the primary barrier—rather, improving attendance and supporting consistent instruction across all grade levels will be key to turning things around.

753

Students ?

16.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,410

Per pupil spending ?

33.6%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

90.2%

Kindergartners complete for all required vaccines (2025-26)

Exemptions: 6.8% (any vaccine)

4125 Crooked Lake Rd
Howell, MI 48843-8814

(517) 548-6387

District: Howell Public Schools

Students who attend Three Fires Elementary usually attend:

Elementary:	Parker Middle School
High:	Howell High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

89.2%

Hispanic:

5.6%

Two or more races:

4.4%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Three Fires Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 80th percentile in 2016 → 48th in 2026

Worth a look

!High chronic absenteeism (37% vs 28% Michigan)

!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school36%

District avg43%

Michigan avg38%

773^rd of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 48%▼ down 32 pts since 2016

From top 20% (2016) to bottom 48% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 7Elementary Schools in the Howell Public Schools

216^th of 625Howell Public Schools among Michigan districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	45.2	773 of 1492	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	54.9	648 of 1488	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.7	805 of 1486	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.0	723 of 1470	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	42.6	725 of 1344	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	49.4	527 of 1153	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	65.2	439 of 1408	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	81.1	255 of 1448	82.4%	★★★★☆
2017	65.1	420 of 1466	71.4%	★★★★☆
2016	76.1	306 of 1548	80.2%	★★★★☆
2015	67.6	492 of 1580	68.9%	★★★☆☆
2014	70.8	404 of 1533	73.6%	★★★★☆
2013	73.7	371 of 1563	76.3%	★★★★☆
2012	70.9	428 of 1566	72.7%	★★★★☆
2011	65.9	594 of 1552	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2010	69.3	545 of 1552	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2009	51.7	1011 of 1589	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2008	57.5	836 of 1577	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2007	62.0	692 of 1565	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2006	61.3	689 of 1545	55.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	34.2	845 of 1343	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	41.9	736 of 1338	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.6	873 of 1342	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.3	762 of 1321	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.4	686 of 1106	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	46.8	453 of 902	49.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	60.6	433 of 1171	63.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	81.1	228 of 1443	84.2%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	28.8	978 of 1352	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	29.7	968 of 1346	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	42.1	768 of 1381	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.3	917 of 1350	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.6	755 of 1099	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.7	581 of 749	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	55.9	454 of 1134	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	81.9	151 of 1397	89.2%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	46.4	699 of 1372	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	58.3	545 of 1366	60.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	41.3	761 of 1347	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	44.9	704 of 1334	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.1	736 of 1139	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	36.5	588 of 915	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	59.6	437 of 1196	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	77.9	280 of 1446	80.6%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	26.4	206 of 252	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	67.7	80 of 403	80.1%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	28.6	879 of 1199	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	39.8	740 of 1206	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.6	895 of 1204	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.6	807 of 1198	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.2	767 of 1102	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	41.6	583 of 1005	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.8	499 of 1128	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	73.5	294 of 1253	76.5%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Male (2026)49th percentile~ school

Female (2026)37th percentile-11 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)28th percentile-21 vs school

White (2026)27th percentile-22 vs school

Special Education (2025)18th percentile-38 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts38%-3 vs state

Math35%-3 vs state

Social Studies34%+6 vs state

Science33%-7 vs state

★

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Schools Near Three Fires Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				PSAT English Language Arts (2026)	PSAT Mathematics (2026)	M-Step English Language Arts (2026)					M-Step Math (2026)					M-Step Science (2026)		M-Step Social Studies (2026)		Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSAT English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 8th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners complete for all required vaccines	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Three Fires Elementary	Public	K-5	4125 Crooked Lake Rd	Howell	48843	Livingston County	Howell Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(517) 548-6387	753	46	16.4	33.6%	672 (89.2%)	1 (0.1%)	42 (5.6%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (4.4%)	45.2	773^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	48.2%		54.9	648^th of 1488 public elementary schools	56.5%	125			31.1	43.7	38.5			31.8	42.1	30.3			33.0		33.9		90.2%	6.8%	$15,410	$901	$14,509
Parker Middle School	Public	K-8	400 Wright Rd	Howell	48843	Livingston County	Howell Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(517) 552-4600	1,011	46	21.9	21.4%	916 (90.6%)	4 (0.4%)	55 (5.4%)	5 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	29 (2.9%)	58.1	583^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	60.9%					(n/a)	71.1	35.6	40.6	45.8	70.0	37.9	30.6	31.3	50.0	65.0	32.6	37.1	55.0	38.7	40.0	44.0	38.5%	59.6%	$14,314	$545	$13,769
Hornung Elementary School	Public	K-4	4680 Bauer Rd	Brighton	48116	Livingston County	Brighton Area Schools	No	No	No	No	(810) 299-4450	558	31	18.0	9.1%	525 (94.1%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (2.7%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.6%)	93.2	80^th of 1492 public elementary schools	94.6%		94.5	60^th of 1488 public elementary schools	96.0%	20			61.2	74.3				67.0	79.6								93.9%	5.2%	$13,402	$572	$12,830
Southwest Elementary School	Public	K-5	915 Gay St	Howell	48843	Livingston County	Howell Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(517) 548-6288	526	33	15.8	38.2%	424 (80.6%)	2 (0.4%)	61 (11.6%)	4 (0.8%)	3 (0.6%)	13 (2.5%)	19 (3.6%)	53.2	656^th of 1492 public elementary schools	56.0%		71.4	397^th of 1488 public elementary schools	73.3%	259			28.4	51.7	39.1			45.3	52.8	39.1			34.5		27.6		90.5%	7.9%	$16,803	$918	$15,885
Ruahmah J Hutchings Elementary	Public	K-5	3503 Bigelow Rd	Howell	48855	Livingston County	Howell Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(517) 234-6074	416	29	14.5	16.6%	377 (90.6%)	3 (0.7%)	13 (3.1%)	11 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.9%)	63.1	511^th of 1492 public elementary schools	65.8%		73.1	368^th of 1488 public elementary schools	75.3%	143			53.7	50.0	49.3			43.3	51.3	40.8			45.1		22.5		86.8%	10.3%	$17,114	$545	$16,569
Northwest Elementary School	Public	K-5	1233 Bower St	Howell	48843	Livingston County	Howell Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(517) 548-6297	418	29	14.4	18.4%	394 (94.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.7%)	59	574^th of 1492 public elementary schools	61.5%		52.2	683^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	54.1%	109			49.3	34.8	45.3			65.8	43.5	32.8			37.5		31.7		85.7%	11.1%	$19,237	$545	$18,692
Challenger Elementary School	Public	K-5	1066 W Grand River Ave	Howell	48843	Livingston County	Howell Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(517) 548-6375	465	33	14.3	29.0%	432 (92.9%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.4%)	70	405^th of 1492 public elementary schools	72.9%		63.5	517^th of 1488 public elementary schools	65.3%	112			27.6	50.6	63.9			51.3	54.4	52.8			47.2		41.7		93%	7%	$15,997	$821	$15,176
Voyager Elementary School	Public	K-5	1450 Byron Rd	Howell	48843	Livingston County	Howell Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(517) 552-7500	517	29	17.7	24.4%	488 (94.4%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.7%)	66.5	465^th of 1492 public elementary schools	68.8%		62.4	532^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	64.2%	67			36.1	50.6	48.2			44.6	62.9	44.6			50.6		33.7		85.7%	11.7%	$13,070	$545	$12,525
Hilton Road Elementary School	Public	K-4	9600 Hilton Rd	Brighton	48114	Livingston County	Brighton Area Schools	No	No	No	No	(810) 299-3950	507	29	17.6	7.3%	454 (89.5%)	4 (0.8%)	23 (4.5%)	6 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.6%)	92.7	91^st of 1492 public elementary schools	93.9%		87.2	170^th of 1488 public elementary schools	88.6%	79			63.2	64.0				75.8	73.0								91%	8.1%	$14,950	$655	$14,294
Farley Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	8110 Farley Rd	Pinckney	48169	Livingston County	Pinckney Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(810) 225-6400	233	13	18.0	23.2%	218 (93.6%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.4%)	3 (1.3%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.3%)								(n/a)																	89.9%	7.2%	$16,290	$737	$15,552

Frequently Asked Questions about Three Fires Elementary

How many students attend Three Fires Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 753 students attended Three Fires Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Three Fires Elementary attend?

Students who attend Three Fires Elementary usually go on to attend:

Elementary : Parker Middle School
High : Howell High School

Is Three Fires Elementary a good school?

Three Fires Elementary ranks 773^rd of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Three Fires Elementary?

Students at Three Fires Elementary are 89% White, 6% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Three Fires Elementary in?

Howell Public Schools

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Latest Michigan data All new data »

2021–22 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

2025–26 M-Step, PSAT & SAT test scoresSep 4, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.